U.S. President George Bush is sending more U.S. forces to Afghanistan while withdrawing about 8,000 troops from Iraq. Those wars and U.S. troop levels are part of this year's presidential campaign.
美国总统布什在从伊拉克撤回8千士兵的同时向阿富汗增派兵力。伊拉克、阿富汗战争和美军在这两个地区的军力水平是今年总统选举的部分议题。
President Bush says some 8,000 troops will leave Iraq by next February, including a Marine battalion from Anbar province, an Army combat brigade and more than 3,000 aviation personnel, construction engineers and military police.
布什总统说，大约8千士兵，包括驻扎在安巴尔省的海军陆战队的一个营，一个陆军战斗旅和过3千人以上的空勤人员、建筑工程师和军警将在明年2月离开伊拉克。
"While the enemy in Iraq is still dangerous, we have seized the offensive, and Iraqi forces are becoming increasingly capable of leading and winning the fight," he said. "As a result, we have been able to carry out a policy of "return on success" - reducing American combat forces in Iraq as conditions on the ground continue to improve."
布什总统说：“尽管我们在伊拉克的敌人仍很危险，但我们不断向他们发动攻势，而且伊拉克部队正渐渐强大起来。他们可以指挥并赢得战斗。因此，我们可以执行‘凯旋而归’的政策了，也就是在伊拉克局势逐渐好转的情况下减少美军驻伊拉克部队人数。”
Speaking to military commanders at the National Defense University in Washington, Mr. Bush said Tuesday that there now appears to be a degree of durability to security gains in Iraq that the president ascribes to his decision to send reinforcements last year.
布什总统星期二在华盛顿美国国防大学对美军指挥官的演讲中说，看来伊拉克的安全局势发生了某种持续性的好转。布什把这一成就归因于他去年的增兵政策。
With the withdrawal of 8,000 troops by early next year, there will be slightly more American forces in Iraq than before the surge.
到明年撤出8千士兵时，美军在伊拉克的兵力仍将略高于增兵前的兵力。
Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain supported the surge. His Democratic opponent, Senator Barack Obama, did not.
共和党总统候选人麦凯恩曾支持增兵计划，而他的民主党竞选对手奥巴马则反对增兵。
In a written statement, McCain said Obama is "utterly confused" by the progress in the war in Iraq. McCain called Obama's vow to withdraw all U.S. troops within 16 months "profoundly irresponsible".
麦凯恩在一份书面声明中说，奥巴马对伊拉克战争的进展“完全不了解”。麦凯恩说，奥巴马所说的在16个月内完全撤出美军部队是“完全不负责任”的。
Speaking to reporters in Ohio, Obama said withdrawing troops will force Iraq's political leaders to take more responsibility for their own security.
奥巴马在俄亥俄州对记者的演讲中说，撤军将迫使伊拉克领导人对他们自己国家的安全承担更多责任。
"In the absence of a timetable to remove our combat brigades, we will continue to give Iraq's leaders a blank check instead of pressing them to reconcile their differences," he said. "So the president's talk of return on success is a new name for continuing the same strategic mistakes that have dominated our foreign policy for over five years."
他说：“在没有我们战斗部队的撤军时间表的情况下，我们是在不断给伊拉克领导人开空头支票，而不是向他们施压、要求他们调和内部分歧。所以布什总统在演讲中提到的胜利班师的说法是给已主导我们外交政策五年多的战略性错误换上一个新名称。”
In addition to the withdrawals from Iraq, President Bush is sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan where he says Taliban attacks are shaking the confidence of the Afghan people.
除了从伊拉克撤军外，布什总统还将向阿富汗增派部队。他说，塔利班在阿富汗的进攻正动摇阿富汗人民的信心。
"Afghanistan's success is critical to the security of America and our partners in the free world," the president said. "And for all the good work we have done in that country, it is clear we must do even more. As we learned in Iraq, the best way to restore the confidence of the people is to restore basic security - and that requires more troops."
布什总统说：“我们在阿富汗的胜利对美国和我们在自由世界的盟国的安全至关重要。虽然我们已在阿富汗取得了成绩，但是我们还必须做更多的工作。正如我们在伊拉克所体验到的，能恢复人们信心的最佳途径就是恢复那个地区的基本安全--而那需要更大的兵力。”
In November, a Marine battalion that was scheduled to go to Iraq will instead deploy to Afghanistan. They will be followed in January by an Army combat brigade.
在11月份，原本将被派往伊拉克的海军陆战队的一个营将被部署在阿富汗。另外一个陆军战斗旅也将随后在1月份前往阿富汗。
McCain and Obama both support more troops for Afghanistan, but the Democratic nominee says the president's action is insufficient because the most substantial increase will not come for another five months.
麦凯恩和奥巴马都支持向阿富汗增兵。但民主党总统候选人奥巴马说，布什总统做得还不够，因为阿富汗的安全形势将不会在五个月之内有实质性进展。
"His plan comes up short," Obama said. "It is not enough troops not enough resources with not enough urgency."
他说：“他的规划不周全。兵力短缺，资源短缺，并缺乏紧迫感。”
President Bush says the United States must help Pakistan defeat Taliban and al-Qaida fighters who are using remote border regions to destabilize both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
布什总统说，美国必须帮助巴基斯坦打败塔利班和基地组织。塔利班和基地组织成员正利用偏僻的边境地区动摇巴基斯坦和阿富汗的局势。 |